Texashttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/texas
en-usFri, 18 Aug 2017 01:18:25 -0400Fri, 18 Aug 2017 01:18:25 -0400The latest news on Texas from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-governor-signs-new-law-banning-insurers-from-covering-abortions-2017-8Texas governor signs bill into law banning insurers from covering abortionshttp://www.businessinsider.com/texas-governor-signs-new-law-banning-insurers-from-covering-abortions-2017-8
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 22:36:35 -0400Kimberly Leonard
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5580e9e4ecad041d4ab5c49e-2400/greg-abbott-3.jpg" alt="greg abbott" data-mce-source="Larry Downing/Reuters" /></p><p>Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed into law a bill that bans insurers from covering abortions, obligating women to pay a separate premium if they want coverage for the procedure when it is performed outside of medical emergencies.</p>
<p>The bill does not contain an exemption for fetal abnormality or for women who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest.</p>
<p><span>Lawmakers who supported the bill said people shouldn't be forced to subsidize abortions through their private health insurance plans. Opponents, largely Democrats, countered during debate on the bill that women do not anticipate needing an abortion, particularly in cases of sexual assault. The plan, they said, would require women to buy "rape </span><span>insurance."</span></p>
<p>The legislature debated the limits on insurance coverage during the regular session that ended in May, but Abbott, a Republican, called a special session to revive the bill. A statement on his website called the bill "an important piece of the governor's pro-life agenda."</p>
<p>Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah have similar laws. Indiana and Utah are the only states that make exemptions for incest and rape. In Oregon and California, insurers are required to cover abortions.</p>
<p>A study published in March from the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, found about 60 percent of patients with private health insurance pay out of pocket for an abortion, either because deductibles are high or because their plan doesn't cover it. Many women who have abortions are low-income and do not have private coverage.</p>
<p>Abbott on Tuesday also signed into law a second abortion-related bill that increased reporting requirements on abortion-related complications for facilities and doctors who provide abortions.</p>
<p>The laws follow similar abortion restrictions that Texas officials have passed. In 2013, the legislature passed a slew of abortion restrictions on facilities that mandated they set up their services in a similar way to an ambulatory care center, which included specifics on how wide hallways and doorways should be. The Supreme Court struck down the requirement in 2016, saying the state had not demonstrated the requirements were needed and the restrictions created an "undue burden" on women seeking to obtain an abortion.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/abortion-doctor-texas-hb2-pro-choice-pro-life-trap-laws-2017-4" >This Texas abortion doctor suffers daily threats and protests — here's why he says he'll never leave</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-governor-signs-new-law-banning-insurers-from-covering-abortions-2017-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-may-have-missed-season-7-episode-5-game-of-thrones-hbo-jon-snow-targaryen-dragons-easter-eggs-2017-8">6 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 5 of 'Game of Thrones'</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/giant-texas-bbq-pit-2017-8This Texas BBQ is grilled in a giant pithttp://www.businessinsider.com/giant-texas-bbq-pit-2017-8
Mon, 14 Aug 2017 15:17:57 -0400Rachel Cohn and Taryn Varricchio
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/giant-texas-bbq-pit-2017-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-texas-bathroom-bills-stalled-in-special-legislative-session-2017-8Texas 'bathroom' bills appear doomed in special legislative sessionhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-texas-bathroom-bills-stalled-in-special-legislative-session-2017-8
Mon, 14 Aug 2017 11:00:00 -0400Jon Herskovitz
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/599185175124c90439f39734-450-300/texas-bathroom-bills-stalled-in-special-legislative-session-2017-8.jpg" alt="FILE PHOTO: A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California, U.S. September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (/File Photo" border="0" /></p><p>AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas measures to restrict access for transgender people to bathrooms in schools and public buildings appear doomed this week after hundreds of businesses stood in opposition and moderate Republican powerbrokers blocked the bills.</p>
<p>The so-called bathroom bills have caused rifts among Republicans who control the state's legislature, leaving no likely path to passage before a 30-day special session wraps on Wednesday, analysts and lawmakers said.</p>
<p>"The bathroom bill in this session is dead and buried with dirt over its coffin," said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston.</p>
<p>Enactment in Texas, the most populous Republican-dominated state, could give momentum to other socially conservative states for additional action on an issue that has become a flashpoint in the U.S. culture wars.</p>
<p>But House Speaker Joe Straus, a pro-business Republican who controls the agenda in the body, has shown little interest in passing a bathroom bill, which he said was not a priority.</p>
<p>His position was buffeted by a well-financed campaign from major corporations including Texas-based energy companies Halliburton and ExxonMobil Global Services , which have said the bills were discriminatory and would make it hard for them to recruit top talent.</p>
<p>Supporters of the legislation, who say it can help protect women and children from sexual assaults, have not given up.</p>
<p>But they acknowledge there is only a slim chance of success, with lawmakers still trying to reach deals on almost all of the 20 priority items set by Republican Governor Greg Abbott for the session.</p>
<p>Senate Bill 3, which made it through the Senate and stalled in the House, requires people to use restrooms, showers and locker rooms in public schools and other state and local government facilities that match the sex on their birth certificate, as opposed to their gender identity.</p>
<p>A push for bathroom bills nationally sputtered after North Carolina partially repealed such a measure in March after boycotts by athletic organizations and businesses that have cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.</p>
<p>Opposition against the Texas measures includes global tech giants IBM and Apple , major Texas city police chiefs who contested claims the bills would protect public safety, left-leaning religious leaders and the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars team.</p>
<p>Republican Representative Ron Simmons, who sponsored a version of the bathroom legislation in the Texas House, said the privacy issue at the heart of the bills is supported by a wide majority of Republican primary voters.</p>
<p>"Just because we don&rsquo;t pass legislation doesn&rsquo;t mean that the issue is not going to be there," he said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Leslie Adler)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-bathroom-bill-sb6-transgender-rights-2017-1" >A Texas 'bathroom bill' is being torched by an unlikely source</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-texas-bathroom-bills-stalled-in-special-legislative-session-2017-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-may-have-missed-season-7-episode-5-game-of-thrones-hbo-jon-snow-targaryen-dragons-easter-eggs-2017-8">6 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 5 of 'Game of Thrones'</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/a-judge-stopped-texas-controversial-sanctuary-city-ban-2017-8A judge stopped Texas' controversial sanctuary city ban from being enforced, but the fight isn't overhttp://www.businessinsider.com/a-judge-stopped-texas-controversial-sanctuary-city-ban-2017-8
Fri, 11 Aug 2017 19:27:00 -0400Anders Hagstrom
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/598cc2b3cb97011c008b462f-592/us-judge-dismisses-texas-suit-on-sanctuary-city-law-2017-8.jpg" alt="FILE PHOTO: A protester against the Texas state law to punish " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="FILE PHOTO: A protester against the Texas state law to punish &amp;quotsanctuary cities&amp;quot stands outside the U.S. Federal court in San Antonio" /></p><p>A U.S. district judge struck down a lawsuit Wednesday filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to enforce the state&rsquo;s recently-passed ban on sanctuary cities.</p>
<p>The Attorney General filed the suit in anticipation of push back after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the sanctuary city ban in May. While Judge Sam Sparks dismissed the lawsuit Wednesday, it is not an end to the issue, as&nbsp;<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/06/02/san-antonio-sues-gov-greg-abbott-over-sanctuary-city-ban-austin-to-join/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">another lawsuit</a>&nbsp;filed in June by the city of San Antonio will now take center stage on the question of the ban&rsquo;s constitutionality, The Texas Tribune&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/08/09/judge-dismisses-paxton-sb4-lawsuit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported Wednesday</a>.</p>
<p>&ldquo;We were first to file a lawsuit concerning SB 4, filed this case in the only proper court, and moved quickly to consolidate other lawsuits against SB 4 in Austin,&rdquo; Paxton said in a statement. &ldquo;The health, safety, and welfare of Texans is not negotiable. We&rsquo;re disappointed with the court&rsquo;s ruling and look forward to pressing our winning arguments in the San Antonio cases and beyond (if necessary) on this undoubtedly constitutional law.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Spark&rsquo;s ruling essentially determines that the question of the ban&rsquo;s constitutionality will be decided by San Antonio&rsquo;s lawsuit rather than the state government&rsquo;s. But the question being considered is the same: whether cities have the right to direct local officers against working with federal immigration officials.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia presides over the cities&rsquo; lawsuit. He held a seven-hour hearing June 26, but has yet to issue a ruling.</p>
<p>San Antonio City Councilman Rey Saldana announced the city&rsquo;s lawsuit without a vote from the city council in June, and a slew of other Texas sanctuary cities have joined the lawsuit since. Saldana, who has praised his father for immigrating to the U.S. illegally, filed the suit with the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.maldef.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mexican American Legal Defense And Education Fund</a>&nbsp;(MALDEF).</p>
<p>A MALDEF spokesperson called the law &ldquo;hateful&rdquo; and &ldquo;misguided,&rdquo; arguing the city&rsquo;s &ldquo;loss of control&rdquo; over its police department would result in residents being asked about their immigration status, which MALDEF says violates the 14th Amendment.</p>
<p>But Texas argued to Garcia that San Antonio&rsquo;s case should be thrown out and law allowed to stand.</p>
<p>&ldquo;There is an ongoing debate in the country about federal immigration law,&rdquo; Assistant Attorney General Darren McCarty told Garcia in court. &ldquo;That is a healthy and appropriate debate, and it should be decided in legislatures and Congress. Where it is not appropriate to decide it &mdash; respectfully, your honor &mdash; is in litigation.&rdquo;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lawsuits-begin-over-texas-sanctuary-cities-ban-2017-5" >Texas and its cities are already suing each other over the state's ban on 'sanctuary cities'</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-judge-stopped-texas-controversial-sanctuary-city-ban-2017-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/good-cholesterol-hdl-not-so-good-2017-7">We may have been wrong about ‘good’ cholesterol all this time</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-judge-dismisses-texas-suit-on-sanctuary-city-law-2017-8Judge dismisses Texas law to punish 'sanctuary cities'http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-judge-dismisses-texas-suit-on-sanctuary-city-law-2017-8
Thu, 10 Aug 2017 14:08:00 -0400Jon Herskovitz
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/598c7f8c5124c9945bb76a76-450-300/us-judge-dismisses-texas-suit-on-sanctuary-city-law-2017-8.jpg" alt="FILE PHOTO: A protester against the Texas state law to punish " border="0" /></p><p>AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. district judge in Austin has rejected an effort by Texas to have a law that would punish so-called sanctuary cities be declared constitutional ahead of the measure taking effect next month.</p>
<p>The Republican-backed law is the first of its kind since Republican Donald Trump became president in January, promising to crack down on illegal immigration. Texas is the U.S. state with the longest border with Mexico.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, appointed under Republican President George H.W. Bush, dismissed the case without prejudice late on Wednesday. The brief ruling did not give a reason.</p>
<p>Senate Bill 4 calls for jail time for police chiefs, sheriffs and possibly frontline officers who fail to cooperate with U.S. immigration officials. The measure also allows police to ask about immigration status during a lawful detention.</p>
<p>After the law was approved in May, Texas sued major urban areas, including Austin, El Paso and Houston, as well as civil rights groups, saying they backed policies of non-cooperation with federal immigration officials.</p>
<p>At a hearing in June, Sparks asked why a court should declare the law constitutional before it took effect on Sept. 1. He also questioned why he should hear the case when most of the parties were part of a separate lawsuit over the same law being heard in a federal court in San Antonio.</p>
<p>The defendants contended that they have been abiding by federal law and the suit should be dismissed because Texas had no evidence to show that it had been harmed by a law that had not taken effect.</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/58f14ccdc75d4a1b008b4790-2000/ap17104569569385.jpg" alt="immigration sanctuary cities" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Haven Daley" data-mce-caption="Protesters hold up signs outside a courthouse Friday, April 14, 2017, in San Francisco." /></p>
<p>Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Wednesday he was disappointed with the ruling on what he called an "undoubtedly constitutional law."</p>
<p>In the federal case being heard in San Antonio, a small border town and some of the largest Texas cities told a judge in June that SB 4 could lead to an immigration police state and establish illegal racial profiling. They asked the court to halt it, saying it was unconstitutional.</p>
<p>The bill's Republican sponsor has said there are no local jurisdictions in Texas he considers a "sanctuary city," a place that shields immigrants in the country illegally, adding that the law would prevent them from adopting such policies.</p>
<p>Chicago on Monday sued to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing new policies that would withhold money from sanctuary cities.&nbsp;</p>
<p>(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Dan Grebler)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-jeff-sessions-sanctuary-cities-crackdown-update-2017-7" >The Trump administration just toughened its crackdown on 'sanctuary cities'</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-judge-dismisses-texas-suit-on-sanctuary-city-law-2017-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-uss-gerald-r-ford-aircraft-carrier-nimitz-2017-7">How the US's futuristic new aircraft carrier will change naval warfare forever</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/alcoholic-boozy-ramen-2017-8Ramen cocktails are a thing nowhttp://www.businessinsider.com/alcoholic-boozy-ramen-2017-8
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 12:37:35 -0400Joanna Fantozzi
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5989e8f027fa6b47e0047e67-1280/promothai-bowl.jpg" alt="Thai Bowl Cocktail" data-mce-source="Ian Ramirez/ Daiquiri Time Out" /></p><p></p>
<h3><strong>The INSIDER Summary:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Daiquiri Time Out bar in Galveston, Texas, serves a cocktail that looks like ramen.</strong></li>
<li><strong>It's actually made with coconut water "noodles" solidified with the help of a&nbsp;<span>seaweed-based gelling agent.</span></strong></li>
<li><strong>The chilled cocktail is served in a ramen bowl with chopsticks.</strong></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><br />Alcoholic versions of our favorite foods is not exactly a new concept. After all, we've been lusting after <a href="http://www.thisisinsider.com/haeagen-dazs-boozy-ice-cream-2017-7">boozy ice cream</a> and <a href="http://www.thisisinsider.com/this-boozy-drink-is-cereal-for-grown-ups-2017-6">adult cereal bowls</a> for years now. But&nbsp;alcoholic ramen takes the craft cocktail concept to a whole new level.</p>
<p>The Thai Bowl is served at <a href="http://daiquiritimeout.com/">Daiquiri Time Out</a>, an innovative cocktail bar in Texas. While this may&nbsp;<em>look&nbsp;</em>like a bowl of warm curry ramen, it's actually a refreshing cocktail made with coconut water "glass noodles" and dark rum. But don't worry, you can still pretend you're eating real ramen: The boozy "dish" is served in a class ramen bowl with chopsticks.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>So how do they do it?</em></p>
<p>"<span>The 'noodles' are hand-cut and made from fresh coconut water and Agar Agar, which is a seaweed-based gelling agent," Brad Stringer, co-owner of Daiquiri Time Out told INSIDER in an email. "The 'broth' is a blend of Plantation Original Dark rum, turmeric-ginger syrup, lime cordial, coconut cream, and coconut milk (for texture)."</span></p>
<p><span>The resulting mix looks almost exactly like&nbsp;yellow curry broth filled with&nbsp;slurpable noodles, but when it hits you, the dark rum can pack quite a punch.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>Try one out yourself at DTO on Market&nbsp;Street in Galveston, Texas.&nbsp;</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/alcoholic-boozy-ramen-2017-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-7-people-arya-stark-kill-list-game-of-thrones-hbo-deaths-prayer-2017-8">Here's everyone left on Arya Stark's kill list on 'Game of Thrones'</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/fossil-fuel-execs-tell-texas-dont-target-trans-people-2017-8Fossil fuel executives: Don't target trans peoplehttp://www.businessinsider.com/fossil-fuel-execs-tell-texas-dont-target-trans-people-2017-8
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 20:26:00 -0400Emma Foehringer Merchant
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/588159fdf10a9a1c008b91f4-907/undefined" alt="transgender bathroom bill hb2" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Sara D. Davis" data-mce-caption="A gender neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at Oval Park Grill on May 11, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina." /></p><p>Leaders from over 50 companies including Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, Shell, and ExxonMobil <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3903751-O-amp-G-Letter-to-Gov-Abbott-on-Bathroom-Bill.html">sent a letter</a> to Governor Greg Abbott on Monday urging a defeat of <a href="https://apps.texastribune.org/texas-bathroom-bill-annotated/">the state&rsquo;s &ldquo;bathroom bill,&rdquo;</a> which would discriminate against trans individuals by requiring people to use the bathroom corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate in public schools, universities, and government buildings.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Any bill that harms our ability to attract top talent to Houston will inhibit our growth and continued success &mdash; and ultimately the success of our great state,&rdquo; the business executives wrote in the letter.</p>
<p>These concerns echo criticism of a similar rule that North Carolina <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/north-carolina-s-bathroom-bill-repeal-who-s-satisfied-n741056">repealed in March</a>. The Associated Press calculated that the contentious law would have cost North Carolina more than&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fa4528580f3e4a01bb68bcb272f1f0f8/ap-exclusive-bathroom-bill-cost-north-carolina-376b">$3.8 billion</a>&nbsp;over 12 years in lost business opportunities. The Texas Association of Business <a href="https://secure.keeptxopen.org/page/-/SB6%20Economic%20Impact%204.18.pdf">tallied the Texas bill&rsquo;s &ldquo;economic fallout&rdquo;</a> at $5.6 billion over nine years.</p>
<p>The bathroom bill <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/01/houston-oil-executives-join-dallas-business-leaders-in-denouncing-texas-bathroom-bill/?utm_term=.353c7bd6c5e2">passed the Texas Senate</a>&nbsp;on July 26 and now faces the state House, where it&rsquo;s expected to encounter&nbsp;<a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Difficult-road-ahead-for-bathroom-bill-in-House-11438921.php">serious opposition</a>.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-bathroom-bill-what-is-sb6-2017-3" >Texas' controversial 'bathroom bill' cleared its first hurdle — here's what you need to know about it</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fossil-fuel-execs-tell-texas-dont-target-trans-people-2017-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/good-cholesterol-hdl-not-so-good-2017-7">We may have been wrong about ‘good’ cholesterol all this time</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ice-announces-18-texas-287g-agreements-deportation-immigration-news-2017-8ICE is partnering with 18 more sheriff's departments to ramp up its deportation machinehttp://www.businessinsider.com/ice-announces-18-texas-287g-agreements-deportation-immigration-news-2017-8
Tue, 01 Aug 2017 14:16:45 -0400Michelle Mark
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/591c88a2144293db7b8b58f7-1024/100days1.jpg" alt="ice officers arrest deportation immigrants" data-mce-source="Immigration and Customs Enforcement" data-link="https://www.ice.gov/features/100-days" /></p><p>In an escalation of local law enforcement agencies' participation in immigration enforcement, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on Monday <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-announces-18-new-287g-agreements-texas">announced</a> it had struck 18 new partnerships with sheriff's departments in Texas.</p>
<p>The announcement is a notable development in the Trump administration's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-dhs-memos-pave-way-for-deportation-force-2017-2">efforts to ramp up its deportation apparatus</a>, following memos from the Department of Homeland Security in February announcing that it would expand a controversial ICE program that had largely fallen into disuse under the Obama administration.</p>
<p>ICE's 287(g) program establishes agreements with local law enforcement agencies, allowing them to deputize officers as immigration agents and enforce federal immigration law. In recent years, the federal government had allowed most of the previously existing agreements to lapse without renewal, leaving roughly 38 participating law enforcement agencies by the time President Donald Trump took office.</p>
<p>"ICE plans to continue this higher rate of expansion in the coming year, as resources allow," the agency said in a statement. The 18 new counties bring ICE's total to 60 287(g) agreements across the US, with a total of 1,822 state and local officers authorized to enforce federal immigration law.</p>
<p>Since the Trump administration announced it would revive the program, ICE has reported a surge in <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/31/texas-police-agencies-get-some-ice-powers.html">interest</a> from police and sheriff's departments.</p>
<p>While ICE and the participating law enforcement agencies argue the agreements are essential in ridding communities of criminal immigrants, critics have decried the 287(g) program as a gateway for law enforcement officers to engage in racial profiling and civil rights violations.</p>
<p>The 287(g) program was notoriously used in Arizona's Maricopa County formerly run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and in 2011 was canceled due to alleged discriminatory policing practices. Arpaio was eventually voted out of office last year, and on Monday was found <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/us/sheriff-joe-arpaio-convicted-arizona.html?smid=tw-share&amp;_r=0">guilty of criminal contempt of court</a> for willfully violating a court order to cease detaining suspected unauthorized immigrants.</p>
<p>Some Texas sheriffs have also previously spoken out against the program, arguing that it saps local resources and their officers could be put to better use. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of Harris County, for instance, canceled his department's 287(g) agreement in February &mdash; a move that he said saved $675,000 of taxpayer dollars per year, and freed up 10 sheriff's deputies who had been working with the program.</p>
<p>Gonzalez left in place his department's policy to cooperate with ICE requests to detain suspected unauthorized immigrants, however, and saw no subsequent decrease in the amount of detainers issued in the month following the cancellation of the 287(g) agreement, the <a href="http://www.houstonpress.com/news/cutting-287-g-in-harris-county-has-had-little-effect-9396699">Houston Press reported</a>.</p>
<p>The amount of detainers issued held steady at roughly 1,000 per month, prompting questions of how effective the 287(g) program had been in the first place.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-dhs-memos-pave-way-for-deportation-force-2017-2" >Trump's immigration crackdown is paving the way for a 'deportation force'</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ice-announces-18-texas-287g-agreements-deportation-immigration-news-2017-8#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joshua-green-devils-bargain-chris-christie-trump-election-night-germaphobe-cell-phone-2017-7">Chris Christie ruined his relationship with Trump because the president is a germaphobe</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-criminal-justice-reform-conservatives-liberals-bipartisan-alliance-2017-7Texas is shedding its lock-'em-up image thanks to a 37-year-old tattooed lawyer and an unlikely political alliancehttp://www.businessinsider.com/texas-criminal-justice-reform-conservatives-liberals-bipartisan-alliance-2017-7
Sat, 29 Jul 2017 16:03:00 -0400Michelle Mark
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5977688c5d8a2f26008b50ca-800/reporter-gonzalez-campaigning-800x500.jpg" alt="nueces county district attorney mark gonzalez" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Mark Gonzalez" /></p><p>Mark Gonzalez had never prosecuted a single case before he was elected district attorney of Nueces County, Texas, last November.</p>
<p>The 37-year-old self-described "Mexican biker defense lawyer" spent his first decade in law poking holes through bad cases and defending low-level offenders from what he viewed as unnecessary prosecutions and unduly harsh penalties. So when the 2016 election season approached, Gonzalez thought the Nueces County district attorney's office was ripe for an overhaul.</p>
<p>To say Gonzalez isn't the archetype for the chief criminal prosecutor for the southern Texas county is an understatement. He's covered in tattoos &mdash; the words "Not Guilty" stretch from shoulder to shoulder in jagged type, and his left forearm is inked with a portrait of Moses <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/10/08/mark-gonzalez-a-nontraditional-candidate/91819730/">because, as his clients say, "he sets people free</a>." He spends his free time riding one of his three Harley-Davidson motorcycles along the barren Texas highways with the Calaveras Motorcycle Club, a group some of his critics called a "biker gang." And at 19, he<a href="http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/01/05/7-things-know-nueces-countys-new-district-attorney/96210034/"> was arrested for a misdemeanor</a>, driving while intoxicated. He keeps his mugshot framed in his office.</p>
<p>But there he was on January 5, in a tiny courthouse in his hometown of Agua Dulce, sworn in while <a href="http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/South-Texas-Prosecutor-Sworn-in-Wearing-Cole-Beasley-Cowboys-Jersey-409801615.html">wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey</a> in a private ceremony in front of his family.</p>
<p>Gonzalez's inexperience and tattoos didn't matter to Texans &mdash; they liked what he had to say.</p>
<p>Gonzalez beat a tough-on-crime 29-year Democratic incumbent and an experienced Republican prosecutor by calling for reform. He said he planned to eliminate a notorious court backlog by choosing cases more thoughtfully and making better and fairer deals with defendants. He spoke of offering treatment, education, and job training to low-level offenders rather than jail time, and refocusing police officers on serious crimes.</p>
<p>In short, he wanted to get "smart on crime." And he's far from alone in Texas, where the political conditions have allowed for a Republican-controlled legislature to push through a series of criminal-justice reforms.</p>
<p>Over the past decade, Texas, a state once infamous for its ruthless, lock-'em-up justice system &mdash; it had the country's fastest-growing prison population throughout the 1990s &mdash; has staked out a hard-earned, bipartisan consensus: The state's bursting prison population has been expensive, counterproductive in reducing crime, unsatisfying for victims, and devastating for the families and communities of the incarcerated.</p>
<p>"It was perfect timing," Gonzalez told Business Insider of his surprise election win. "People realized what we were doing wasn't working, so what do we have to lose by trying something different?"</p>
<h2><strong>'This is not a Republican or Democratic issue'</strong></h2>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/573f7ea2910584716f8c40fa-2400/rtx17qhb.jpg" alt="texas prison" data-mce-source="Reuters/Richard Carson" data-mce-caption="A guard looks on near the wall of the prison unit where Edgar Tamayo is scheduled to be executed in Huntsville, Texas Jan. 22, 2014." />Doug Smith, a policy analyst at the left-leaning nonprofit Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, has dedicated his career to crafting reforms to help the incarcerated.</p>
<p>The Austin native has a personal stake in the battle. He would likely still be in prison if it weren't for recent reforms implemented in Texas.</p>
<p>Smith, a former social worker and University of Texas at Austin professor, was imprisoned in 2009 on a 15-year sentence for a string of robberies that he says were the result of a crack-cocaine addiction and mental illness.</p>
<p>Three of those robberies had been committed while Smith was on probation, and although he hadn't used a deadly weapon, he was sentenced harshly.</p>
<p>"I was about the worst risk you could think of, someone with a substance abuse disorder who has a relapse history and a revocation history," Smith told Business Insider. "Not a great candidate for parole."</p>
<p>But people like Smith &mdash; an educated, rehabilitated ex-offender with meaningful employment, dedication to treatment, and bright prospects &mdash; were exactly the reason legislators like Democratic state senator John Whitmire and Republican representative Jerry Madden introduced a bill in 2005 that launched Texas' landmark attempt to overhaul its criminal-justice system.</p>
<p>In the mid-2000s, the Texas prison population was skyrocketing. Texas prisons filled to 97% capacity by 2005, with estimates suggesting the state would need room for <a href="https://csgjusticecenter.org/jr/tx/">17,000 more</a> inmates within a decade. By 2010, the population reached an <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p10.pdf">all-time high</a> of more than 170,000 state and federal inmates.</p>
<p>Madden and Whitmire argued that the situation was neither effective nor cost-efficient, and that expanding prisons wasn't the answer. Their bill called for allocating millions to treatment programs and specialized supervision for probation, while also calling for a reduction in prison terms for certain probationers.</p>
<p>"This is not a Republican or Democratic issue," <a href="http://www.governing.com/poy/jerry-madden-john-whitmire.html">Madden would later say</a> of the legislation. "It's about what's smart for Texas."</p>
<p>The bill, an adjusted version of which became law in 2007, kick-started a series of legislative efforts over the next decade that have <a href="https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p15.pdf">dropped the prison population by about 10,000</a> inmates in five years and helped put people like Smith back on their feet.</p>
<p>Smith was released years early, in 2014, thanks to reforms that allowed for certain prisoners to be released, so long as they were placed under intensive supervision.</p>
<p>"While I was incarcerated, the idea that parole was a given, or that you would be given an opportunity for rehabilitation was unheard of. And I was in prison when this began to shift," Smith said. "I was a beneficiary of that."</p>
<h2><strong>Forging bipartisan consensus</strong></h2>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59726bed552be5b2008b5e2b-2000/ap973507374540.jpg" alt="marc levin right on crime texas public policy foundation" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Carlos Delgado" data-mce-caption="Marc Levin, policy director of Right on Crime, speaks about the important role drug courts and other treatment courts play in advancing criminal justice reform during the joint opening ceremony of the 22nd annual National Association of Drug Court Professionals training conference and the 4th annual Justice For Vets' Vet Court Con at Anaheim Convention Center on Wednesday, June 1, 2016, in Anaheim, Calif." />Until 2005, criminal-justice reform had been nearly impossible to pass in Texas, as was the case in many conservative states.</p>
<p>Reformers were derided as "soft on crime" while even popular bills ran into vetoes from Republicans like Gov. Rick Perry, budget crises, and tough-on-crime district attorneys, many of whom view securing harsh sentences as a metric of success.</p>
<p>But with Texas's prisons bursting at the seams, legislators were faced with a choice: reduce incarceration with reforms or funnel billions into new prisons.</p>
<p>At the same time, a new movement emerged among conservatives, led by Marc Levin, the director of the Right on Crime campaign created by the right-leaning Texas Public Policy Foundation. Levin, an Austin-based attorney and public-policy expert, and other conservatives like him understood ideas such as addressing substance abuse with treatment rather than incarceration, and promoting parole, probation, and reentry programs, as inherent to conservative ideology, not antithetical to it.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, fiscal conservatives in the state had grown appalled by the taxpayer burden of funding and maintaining new prisons, while libertarians were cynical of the broad government power required to funnel vast numbers of Texans through prisons each year.</p>
<p>Social conservatives like Prison Fellowship, an evangelical Christian organization founded by Chuck Colson, a former Watergate-era felon, approached reform after witnessing through their prison-ministry programs how rarely inmates were given opportunities for redemption.</p>
<p>"You really had a point where the only thing that was standing against reform from the conservative perspective ... would just be the muscle memory of being 'tough on crime' for decades," Derek Cohen, the deputy director of Right on Crime, told Business Insider.</p>
<p>What propelled reform forward, however, was that those groups were able to join with liberals long clamoring for change in the Republican-controlled state. The movement formed the Texas Smart On Crime Coalition to push their agenda in the statehouse and, while the coalition is bipartisan, that doesn't mean they agree on everything.</p>
<p>The movement can be thought of as a sort of Venn diagram. Liberals, conservatives, and religious groups each have their own reform plans, and they work together on issues where there is broad agreement, while still vehemently opposing one another where values diverge.</p>
<p>"This shows that just because it's bipartisan doesn't mean that it's compromise," Cohen said. "We're retaining our perfect circles and just in the few places that they overlap, that&rsquo;s where we're working together."</p>
<p>Common issues like bail reform, rehabilitation and treatment programs, and prosecuting youths through juvenile rather than adult courts are all fair game for collaboration. But issues like "<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/mens_rea" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mens rea</a> reform," or requiring more proof of a defendant's culpable mental state, are more polarized. Similarly, en masse sentence reductions for drug crimes and "ban the box" initiatives &mdash; some of which impose civil or criminal penalties on employers that ask about applicants' criminal histories &mdash; remain partisan battlefields.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/59726984552be55f008b5e8e-1200/bi-graphicscriminal justice reform texas.png" alt="criminal justice reform texas" data-mce-source="Business Insider/Skye Gould" /></p>
<p>Cohen said the key to unlocking reforms in Texas has been that most Americans, whether conservative or liberal, just want a system that works.</p>
<p>"They want a system that shows that that behavior is morally blameworthy ... but also that which rehabilitates," Cohen said. "There isn't this monolithic, punitive impulse in Texas or in conservatives or liberals or anywhere in the country."</p>
<p>Smith, the policy analyst for the left-leaning TCJC, recalled being incarcerated in Texas' Huntsville Unit as the Texas reform movement turned bipartisan. When groups like Right on Crime began talking about how over-incarceration represses human potential and fails the communities it's supposed to protect, Smith said he knew progress was coming.</p>
<p>"I'm reading about these things from the inside, and I can't tell you how moved I was that this was the message that I was hearing from the conservative community," Smith said.</p>
<h2><strong>Reform in the age of Trump</strong></h2>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59726909c50c2931008b5db0-2000/rtx35yzy.jpg" alt="donald trump jeff sessions" data-mce-source="Reuters/Kevin Lamarque" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump speaks with Attorney General Jeff Sessions as they attend the National Peace Officers Memorial Service on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., May 15, 2017." />Texas' smart-on-crime crusade has come to be viewed as a model for conservative states like Louisiana, Georgia, and Kentucky, which all recently passed major reform packages.</p>
<p>Those efforts come even as President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have embraced a tough-on-crime agenda that has alarmed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-sessions-harsher-drug-sentences-eric-holder-bipartisan-backlash-2017-5">progressives and conservatives alike</a>.</p>
<p>In May, Sessions directed US attorneys to seek the harshest charges and sentences against defendants and, last week, he rolled back Obama-era reforms to the policing practice known as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/07/19/jeff-sessions-defense-of-civil-asset-forfeiture-annotated/">civil-asset forfeiture</a> &mdash; a way for the federal government to seize the assets of citizens suspected of criminal activity, even if they are not formally charged with a crime.</p>
<p>In many ways, the Trump administration is alone on criminal justice. Multiple Democrats and Republicans decried the civil forfeiture changes as unconstitutional and the sentencing directive as regressive.</p>
<p>The vast majority of conservatives and liberals agree that incarceration in the US has spun out of control. The country has, by far, the largest incarcerated population in the world at <a href="https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2017.html">2.3 million people</a>.</p>
<p>Cohen, of Right on Crime, says he is "very optimistic" that federal reform could still happen soon. Last year, Congress came close to passing bipartisan <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/senate-criminal-justice-sentencing-reform-233071">reforms to mandatory minimum sentencing</a> laws. Many reformers criticize the laws, which require prison terms of certain lengths for certain crimes, as cruel and counterproductive.</p>
<p>The effort stalled as Trump turned to tough-on-crime rhetoric in the election, scaring many Republicans into thinking they'd be painted as soft. It's not hard to see a rare bipartisan effort gaining momentum, particularly given the criminal-justice system's ties to the opioid crisis, which has seen an unprecedented spike in heroin and prescription painkiller abuse in recent years.</p>
<p>Lawmakers and the public alike have begun to recognize that the country cannot punish its way out of drug epidemics, Cohen said, adding that there has been "a very marked shift" toward seeing illicit drug use as an offense fueled by addiction, rather than a moral failing.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/595536b0a3630f87028b6697-2000/ap110829036513.jpg" alt="texas inmates prison program" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Pat Sullivan" data-mce-caption="Houston lawmakers and representatives of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary helped celebrate the opening of the state&rsquo;s first 4-year seminary program to operate entirely behind the walls of a Texas prison." /></p>
<p>Whether or not federal reform is successful, many advocates think the more important arena for reforms lies in the states. Only about 200,000 of the more than 2 million people incarcerated in the US are locked up in federal prisons.</p>
<p>Kate Trammell, the senior state campaign manager for Prison Fellowship, said that the Christian group is focusing its efforts on the state side, even as it pushes Washington for reform.</p>
<p>"States have been and will continue to be the laboratory of democracy, and Texas has really embraced that," Trammell told Business Insider, adding that Texas has become the success story that reformers show to those wary of change.</p>
<p>Louisiana, for instance, recently brought together conservative groups, liberal social-justice activists, business leaders, and religious organizations to win support for sentencing and parole reforms that sailed through the state's Republican-controlled legislature and were signed by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards in June. Louisiana anticipates a <a href="http://www.houmatoday.com/news/20170611/conservative-business-groups-help-carry-la-criminal-justice-reforms-to-victory">10% jail-population reduction</a> over the next decade as a result.</p>
<p>Reform has filtered to the local level too. Newly elected reformers like Gonzalez, the Nueces County district attorney, are beginning to make the day-to-day decisions of what charges to press, what cases to pursue, and who gets a second chance. The stakes are high &mdash; even a modest crime spike could torpedo the public's appetite for leniency to offenders &mdash; but Gonzalez is confident he knows the way forward.</p>
<p>"If you make a mistake and they're misdemeanor offenses, we hope you learn your lesson," Gonzalez said. "My standpoint is &mdash; the bad guys? We slam them &hellip; You need to make sure you don't mess up. Not in my county."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/1982-letter-from-jeff-sessions-reveals-his-early-tough-on-crime-mindset-2017-5" >This 1980s-era letter from Jeff Sessions is a peek into his scorched-earth crime-fighting policies</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://businessinsider.com/undividing" >More from Undividing America</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-criminal-justice-reform-conservatives-liberals-bipartisan-alliance-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tuscaloosa-alabama-central-high-school-resegregation-undividing-america-2017-6">An Alabama high school 'resegregated' after years of being a model of integration — here's what happened after</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/where-texas-lawmakers-stand-on-the-proposed-transgender-military-ban-2017-7Here's where Texans in Congress stand on Trump's proposed transgender military banhttp://www.businessinsider.com/where-texas-lawmakers-stand-on-the-proposed-transgender-military-ban-2017-7
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 00:18:00 -0400Abby Livingston, Alex Samuels and Chris Essig
<p>WASHINGTON &mdash; President Donald Trump set off even more confusion and chaos than usual&nbsp;at the U.S. Capitol this week with&nbsp;a series of tweets announcing he would ban transgender people&nbsp;from serving in the military.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"After consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow ... transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military," Trump tweeted.&nbsp;"Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming ...&nbsp;victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption."</p>
<p>Texas&nbsp;Democrats in Congress&nbsp;were predictably outraged:&nbsp;"The president&rsquo;s harmful and hate-filled policy announced via Twitter to ban transgender Americans from military service represents a new and disturbing low," U.S. Rep. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/sheila-jackson-lee/">Sheila Jackson Lee</a> of Houston said in a statement.</p>
<p>Texas&nbsp;Republicans were a mix of&nbsp;muted, supportive and &mdash; in the case of U.S. Rep. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/will-hurd/">Will Hurd</a> of Helotes &mdash; deeply opposed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Republican&nbsp;U.S. Reps. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/brian-babin/">Brian Babin</a> of Woodville, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/blake-farenthold/">Blake Farenthold</a> of Corpus Christi and<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/louie-gohmert/"> Louie Gohmert</a> of Tyler focused on the costs to the military&nbsp;of covering sex reassignment surgeries, rather than the outright&nbsp;ban on military participation.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Two of their GOP colleagues, U.S. Reps. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/lamar-smith/">Lamar Smith</a> of San Antonio and <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/pete-olson/">Pete Olson</a> of Sugar Land, praised the president for listening to his military advisers on the matter &mdash; a point Trump made in his tweets before a series of reports stating that the Pentagon had been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/us/politics/trump-transgender-military.html">blindsided by the move</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Hurd was the lone Texas Republican who vocally opposed Trump on the matter, saying,&nbsp;"anybody who meets all military requirements should have the opportunity to put on a uniform and serve our great country."</p>
<p>But mostly, there was confusion: On <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/26/trump-transgender-military-ban-behind-the-scenes-240990">Trump's motivations</a>. On whether the ban <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/07/27/daily-202-growing-gop-backlash-to-transgender-troop-ban-underscores-trump-s-political-miscalculation/5979535630fb0436795432a6/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_daily202-730a-1%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.719e1a12db59">would actually happen</a>. The&nbsp;president's own&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/27/trump-transgender-military-ban-no-modification-241029">top military advisers have promised to</a>&nbsp;"treat all of our personnel with respect" until Trump issues a directive on exactly how to implement the policy.</p>
<p>Take it from&nbsp;U.S. House Armed Services Chairman &mdash; and Texas Republican &mdash;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/mac-thornberry/">Mac Thornberry</a> of Clarendon.</p>
<p>"It was a surprise to me, and I think the Pentagon is referring questions to the White House because it was a surprise to them too," he told&nbsp;the &nbsp;<a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/07/26/trumps-transgender-ban-military-catches-texans-offguard-splits-lawmakers">Dallas Morning News</a>.&nbsp;"I don't know what to think."&nbsp;</p>
<p>"Now what?"&nbsp;he added.</p>
<p>Here's what: Take a look at how Texans in Congress are responding to Trump's latest order.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-transgender-ban-sarah-huckabee-sanders-briefing2017-7" >White House press secretary threatens to end briefing amid grilling over Trump's transgender ban</a></strong></p>
<h3>Supports the president's action:</h3>
<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54e60fa269bedd277f3cbd83-400-300/supports-the-presidents-action.jpg" alt="" />
<p><h4>Sen. John Cornyn &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;There are those who&rsquo;d like to use the military to experiment or to try different ideas out, including ones like this. But what I always do is rely upon the experts, and I&rsquo;m confident that&rsquo;s what the president has done&hellip;And I believe that that&rsquo;s the correct course of action.&rdquo; &mdash; <a href="https://twitter.com/PatrickSvitek/status/890597806150471680">Cornyn to KFYO radio host Chad Hasty</a></span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Louie Gohmert &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>"I really appreciate the president taking initiative because it will save a lot of money, because if somebody wants to gender reassign, it ought to be done before," Gohmert said. &mdash; <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/07/26/trumps-transgender-ban-military-catches-texans-offguard-splits-lawmakers">Dallas Morning News</a></span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Joe Barton &mdash;&nbsp;<span>Republican</span></h4>
<div><span>"Congressman Barton supports the president&rsquo;s decision. Our military leaders know best how to protect and defend the United States."</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Lamar Smith &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;I support the recommendation of the administration&rsquo;s military advisors.&rdquo;</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Pete Olson &mdash;&nbsp;<span>Republican</span></h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;As a former Navy pilot, I fully trust our military generals to make the best decision for military readiness and the defense of America. I&rsquo;m pleased President Trump is listening to his generals and making decisions based on the safety and security of our nation.&rdquo;</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Roger Williams &mdash; Republican</h4>
<p><span>"We need to focus on military readiness without distractions," Williams said. "National security is a top priority for our nation and our military must remain focused on keeping our country safe and protected at all times." &mdash;<a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/07/26/trumps-transgender-ban-military-catches-texans-offguard-splits-lawmakers">Dallas Morning News</a></span></p>
<h4>Rep. Blake Farenthold &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;The purpose of the military is to defend our country and the expenditures appropriated to the military should be spent on that.&rdquo;</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Brian Babin &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>"It's just common sense that we wouldn't spend over a billion dollars for a very few individuals who suddenly decide they want to change sex," Babin told local affiliate KBMT. "Again, I applaud Mr. Trump. It's common sense, the military is there for one reason and one reason only, and that is national defense, to keep us free." &mdash; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RepBrianBabin/videos/728701433968509/">Facebook</a></span></div>
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<br/><br/><h3>Opposes the president's action:</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/587ee99dee14b62a008b89ec-400-300/opposes-the-presidents-action.jpg" alt="" />
<p><h4>Rep. Al Green &mdash;&nbsp;<span>Democrat</span></h4>
<p><span>&ldquo;The president seems to be saying that only certain people can be patriotic Americans. This is very serious. People who want to serve and want to give their all to their country should be allowed to do so." &mdash; <a href="https://twitter.com/cheddar/status/890256608701186048">Twitter</a></span></p>
<h4>Rep. Vicente Gonzalez &mdash;&nbsp;<span>Democrat</span></h4>
<div><span>"I call on the president and our nation&rsquo;s military leaders to re-focus their efforts on improving health care and other services for our service members and veterans and ensuring the security, freedom, and prosperity of the United States and its allies. I stand on the side of equality for all."</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Beto O'Rourke &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>"Never mind that transgender Americans are today putting their lives on the line, serving w honor, earning praise from their commanders," O'Rourke tweeted. "... Every time we've made the military more reflective of America, it's been made stronger." &mdash; <a href="https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/890204364073250818">Twitter</a></span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;The president&rsquo;s harmful and hate-filled policy announced via Twitter to ban transgender Americans from military service represents a new and disturbing low. Mr. Trump&rsquo;s blatant discrimination against those who wish to serve runs counter to the ideals and principals espoused by our founding fathers and articulated in the United States Constitution."</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Joaquin Castro &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;America&rsquo;s armed forces need every patriotic person willing to serve and defend our country. The president&rsquo;s policy announcement today is gratuitously discriminatory and will damage our national security."</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Will Hurd &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>"I served alongside many heroic individuals in the United States Armed Services during my time in the CIA and believe anybody who meets all military requirements should have the opportunity to put on a uniform and serve our great country."</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Henry Cuellar &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>If transgender service members are "performing their duty and military folks are fine with that, why are we going to interfere?" &mdash; <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2017/07/26/trumps-transgender-ban-military-catches-texans-offguard-splits-lawmakers">Dallas Morning News</a></span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Gene Green &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;Every American should have the opportunity to serve if they want to serve. There are thousands of servicemembers who identify as transgender in our military and they have all made sacrifices to protect our national security. Military service is about loyalty, respect, and honor &ndash; not sexual orientation or gender identity.&rdquo;</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>"As a granddaughter, daughter, niece, wife and sister of a veteran, I find it shameful for the president to deem a certain group of people as unqualified to serve in our military ... A person should not be deemed unfit to lay down their life for their country based on their gender identity."</span></div>
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<h4>Rep. Marc Veasey &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I am appalled that the president of the United States would blatantly abandon any American who is willing to lay down their life to defend their fellow citizens.&rdquo;</span></div>
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<div>
<h4>Rep. Filemon Vela &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>"Shame on @POTUS for banning #transgender individuals from serving in our military and protecting our freedom." &mdash; <a href="https://twitter.com/RepFilemonVela/status/890260382140575744">Twiiter</a></span></div>
<div><span></span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Lloyd Doggett &mdash; Democrat</h4>
<div><span>"The master of distraction is at it again. Caught up in the swirl of misconduct surrounding the Trump family, he issues yet another ban to change the subject ... We should honor and protect all, no matter their gender, who risk their lives to defend our freedoms."</span></div>
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<br/><br/><h3>Position unclear:</h3>
<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/57e592e1077dcc6b138b7c55-400-300/position-unclear.jpg" alt="" />
<p><h4>Sen. Ted Cruz &mdash;&nbsp;<span>Republican</span></h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Ted Poe &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Sam Johnson &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<h4>Rep. John Ratcliffe &mdash;&nbsp;<span>Republican</span><br /><span></span></h4>
<div>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Jeb Hensarling &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. John Culberson <span>R</span></h4>
<div><span><span>No comment.</span></span>
<h4>Rep. Kevin Brady &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Michael McCaul &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Mike Conaway &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Kay Granger &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Mac Thornberry &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>&ldquo;This tweet was a complete surprise to the Department of Defense and to the Congress,&rdquo; the House Armed Services Chairman said. &ldquo;The standard should be to uphold the high standards of the military as warfighters &ndash; that&rsquo;s what matters. If an individual can meet those standards, that&rsquo;s great. If not, that person should probably look to serve elsewhere. The military cannot be a social program for some other agendas.&rdquo; &mdash; Dallas Morning News</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Randy Weber &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Bill Flores &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Jodey Arrington &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Kenny Marchant &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Michael Burgess &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. John Carter &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
<div>
<h4>Rep. Pete Sessions &mdash; Republican</h4>
<div><span>No comment.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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</div>
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</div></p>
<br/><br/><a href="/category/features">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-smuggling-truck-survivors-could-be-eligible-for-us-visas-2017-7The survivors of the deadly Texas smuggling case could be eligible for US visashttp://www.businessinsider.com/texas-smuggling-truck-survivors-could-be-eligible-for-us-visas-2017-7
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 15:47:40 -0400Michelle Mark
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/597a38cdb50ab12a008b4eb7-2000/ap17207606146975.jpg" alt="san antonio texas memorial smuggling" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Eric Gay" data-mce-caption="A man delivers a large bottle of water to a make-shift memorial Wednesday, July 26, 2017, in the parking lot of a Walmart store near the site where authorities Sunday discovered a tractor-trailer packed with immigrants outside a Walmart, in San Antonio." /></p><p>More than two dozen people who survived a 150-mile journey crammed into a sweltering tractor-trailer could be eligible to receive special visas that would allow them to stay in the United States in exchange for testimony against their alleged smugglers.</p>
<p>Ten people died during or after the journey, and it's unclear what will happen to the 29 survivors, who are currently in hospitals or being detained.</p>
<p>Most of the people in the truck were from Mexico or Guatemala, and they could eventually face deportation.</p>
<p>All of the survivors have been deemed "material witnesses" to temporarily stall deportation, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/us/survivors-of-smuggling-trip-could-gain-entry-to-us-by-becoming-witnesses.html?emc=edit_th_20170727&amp;nl=todaysheadlines&amp;nlid=64529572">The New York Times reported</a>, but that status is subject to change.</p>
<p>Lawyers are reportedly planning to pursue special "U visas" that protect certain victims and witnesses in criminal investigations from deportation so they can testify in court. Silvia Mintz, an attorney for the Guatemalan Consulate in Houston, told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-bodies-immigrants-idUSKBN1AA2SX">Reuters</a> she has already contacted the Department of Homeland Security.</p>
<p>"If we are able to establish the case, we will go ahead and seek the U visa," she said.</p>
<p>The truck's driver, 60-year-old James Bradley, has been charged with knowingly transporting people who are in the country illegally, and if convicted could face the death penalty. Bradley told federal authorities he was unaware the tractor-trailer was filled with people.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5977a6215d8a2f23008b5395-2000/ap17205508370881.jpg" alt="james bradley texas san antonio smuggling" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Eric Gay" data-mce-caption="James Mathew Bradley Jr., 60, of Clearwater, Fla., left, arrives at the federal courthouse for a hearing, Monday, July 24, 2017, in San Antonio." /></p>
<p>Federal authorities have suggested the investigation into the smuggling case could be far-reaching, involving many more suspects beyond Bradley.</p>
<p>"Even though they have the driver in custody, I can guarantee you there's going to be many more people we're looking for to prosecute," Thomas Homan, acting directer of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, told the <a href="http://www.expressnews.com/news/texas/article/Suspect-due-in-court-Monday-after-9-die-in-11328425.php">Associated Press</a>.</p>
<p>But Shane Folden, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in San Antonio, told the Times a decision to exchange visas for the immigrants' testimony is still far off.</p>
<p>"Our focus right now is the criminal investigation," Folden said.</p>
<p>Another factor that could yield potential consequences for the survivors is whether they were willingly smuggled into the country or trafficked involuntarily or under false pretenses. The former implies they committed a crime, but the latter could mean the survivors are eligible for benefits such as financial assistance and housing, the Times reported.</p>
<p>Beyond that, U visa applications require that a law enforcement agency provide certification letters that argue the victim's testimony is essential in a criminal case. Sometimes different agencies dispute whether to provide the letters.</p>
<p>"Some of the worst fights I have seen in my professional life have been between heads of government agencies over witnesses," Michael Wynne, a former federal prosecutor in Texas, told the Times.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/botched-texas-smuggling-operation-killed-ten-immigration-news-2017-7" >The botched Texas smuggling operation that killed 10 has become a flashpoint for the immigration debate</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-smuggling-truck-survivors-could-be-eligible-for-us-visas-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-clinton-greg-norman-injury-monica-lewinsky-2017-8">Golf legend Greg Norman reveals the truth behind President Bill Clinton's late-night 1997 injury</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/natural-swimming-hole-in-texas-is-over-100-feet-deep-2017-7A natural swimming hole in Texas is over 100 feet deephttp://www.businessinsider.com/natural-swimming-hole-in-texas-is-over-100-feet-deep-2017-7
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 13:04:16 -0400Natalie Fennell and Spencer Alben
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/natural-swimming-hole-in-texas-is-over-100-feet-deep-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-first-2017-texas-case-of-local-zika-transmission-reported-2017-7The first case of local Zika transmission in the continental US this year has been reportedhttp://www.businessinsider.com/ap-first-2017-texas-case-of-local-zika-transmission-reported-2017-7
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 10:05:00 -0400
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5979f232b50ab126008b4a02-2400/ap788100700105.jpg" alt="zika virus mosquito control" data-mce-source="Fernando Llano/AP" data-mce-caption="In this Feb. 12, 2016 photo, a municipal worker fumigates against the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits the Zika virus, in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela. Preventing the Zika virus' spread in the absence of a public campaign in a Venezuela where the health care system is near collapse means the people most at risk, the poor, don't even know about the epidemic. Chronic shortages have left the country without insect repellent or contraceptives, leaving women unable to guard against pregnancy, not to mention sexual transmission of the virus." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Venezuela-Zika-Challenges/76b6a3767e484007ac84654819b6cfe0/202/0" /></p><p></p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; Texas health officials have reported what they believe to be the state's first case this year of local Zika virus transmission.</p>
<p>A statement Wednesday by the Texas Department of State Health Services says the person hasn't traveled outside his home area recently, so the virus was probably transmitted by a mosquito in the last few months. The infected person is a resident of Hidalgo County in the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.</p>
<p>A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman says that if the agency confirms the case resulted from a local transmission, it would be the first this year in the U.S.</p>
<p>Six cases of local Zika transmission were reported last year in Texas. Zika can cause severe birth defects in babies of some women infected during pregnancy.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zika-mosquito-borne-disease-summer-risks-2017-6" >Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases could hit hard this summer</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-first-2017-texas-case-of-local-zika-transmission-reported-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/botched-texas-smuggling-operation-killed-ten-immigration-news-2017-7The botched Texas smuggling operation that killed 10 has become a flashpoint for the immigration debatehttp://www.businessinsider.com/botched-texas-smuggling-operation-killed-ten-immigration-news-2017-7
Tue, 25 Jul 2017 16:58:25 -0400Michelle Mark
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5977a5db552be551008b6709-2000/ap17205026552718.jpg" alt="immigration protest texas san antonio" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Eric Gay" data-mce-caption="Young girls take part in a vigil at San Fernando Cathedral for victims who died as a result of being transported in a tractor-trailer, Sunday, July 23, 2017, in San Antonio." /></p><p>Immigration advocates and skeptics alike have seized on the deaths of 10 people who were found in a sweltering tractor-trailer&nbsp;on Sunday in an alleged <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-eight-found-dead-in-texas-truck-in-suspected-human-trafficking-2017-7">human smuggling case</a>&nbsp;gone wrong, arguing that the tragedy demonstrates the need for large-scale immigration reform.</p>
<p>The deaths received national media attention after authorities revealed that more than 100 people were driven about 150 miles through Texas while crammed into the trailer without air conditioning or water, while temperatures outside surpassed 100 degrees Fahrenheit.</p>
<p>The truck's driver, 60-year-old James Bradley, told federal authorities he had been unaware the tractor-trailer was filled with people.</p>
<p>Bradley said after he parked at a San Antonio Walmart and opened the trailer doors, he was knocked down by a group of "Spanish" people fleeing the vehicle, and saw "bodies just lying on the floor like meat." Bradley has been charged with knowingly transporting people who are in the country illegally, and if convicted could face the death penalty.</p>
<p>Texas Lt. Governor <a href="https://www.ksat.com/news/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-blames-democrats-for-deaths-involved-in-human-smuggling-case">Dan Patrick</a>, a Republican, took to Fox News on Tuesday to pin the tragedy on Democrats and proponents of so-called "sanctuary city" policies.</p>
<p>"Our policies from the last Administration &mdash; and quite frankly the Democrat policies of today &mdash; of an open border and sanctuary cities allow and enables these drug smugglers who don't care about human life to put people in this horrific situation," Patrick said.</p>
<p>He added that it was "past time"&nbsp;congressional Democrats and Republicans passed immigration reform legislation that falls in line with Trump's goals of securing the border and cracking down on sanctuary cities, which he said "entice" people to attempt to immigrate illegally and turn to human smugglers.</p>
<p>"These people paid a terrible price and demonstrate why we need a secure border and legal immigration reform so we can control who enters our country," Patrick <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dan.patrick.texas/posts/10154564170876836">said in a statement on Facebook</a>.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5977a6215d8a2f23008b5395-2000/ap17205508370881.jpg" alt="james bradley texas san antonio smuggling" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Eric Gay" data-mce-caption="James Mathew Bradley Jr., 60, of Clearwater, Fla., left, arrives at the federal courthouse for a hearing, Monday, July 24, 2017, in San Antonio." /></p>
<p>Earlier this year, Texas <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-texas-governor-signs-into-law-bill-to-punish-sanctuary-cities-2017-5">passed a law banning jurisdictions that refuse to honor federal requests to detain immigrants</a>. The law allows local officials to be charged with misdemeanors if they knowingly fail to comply with the detainer requests, and ensures localities can't ban police officers from questioning people on their immigration statuses if they are arrested or detained.</p>
<p>The law, known as Senate Bill 4, is slated to take effect Sept. 1, but has been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lawsuits-begin-over-texas-sanctuary-cities-ban-2017-5">challenged in court</a> by rights organizations and localities that say the law infringes on local governments' constitutional rights, and will sow fear through immigrant communities by dissuading people from&nbsp;reporting crimes or testifying as witnesses out of fear they will be deported.</p>
<p>But Democratic critics of Senate Bill 4 have spoken out as well in the wake of the smuggling deaths, arguing that the fatalities and injuries were caused not by sanctuary policies, but by a the current broken immigration system.</p>
<p>"If we had some sort of better policy for immigration purposes, folks like that who are coming over here to work wouldn't feel compelled to smuggle themselves in a trailer," Texas Rep. Poncho Nevarez, a Democrat, told <a href="https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/07/25/224910/san-antonio-incident-highlights-political-disagreement-on-immigration-reform/">Houston Public Media</a>.</p>
<p>Another Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, accused Patrick of "politicizing" the deaths.</p>
<p>"Ten individuals lost their lives this weekend and that deserves our attention, not that the lieutenant governor of Texas successfully passed Senate Bill 4," Rodriguez told <a href="http://www.statesman.com/news/local/interview-dan-patrick-blames-democrats-for-immigrant-deaths-san-antonio/iL0JDV7C9HIZsp3Fp49LbP/">The Austin American-Statesman</a>.</p>
<p>"This moment calls for compassionate people from across the political spectrum to have a difficult and honest conversation about comprehensive immigration reform."</p>
<p>Immigration experts have also chimed in, arguing that more aggressive immigration enforcement, not to mention the construction of a border wall, will not dissuade people from entering the US illegally &mdash; it instead perpetuates a black market in which risky smuggling operations are placed in high demand.</p>
<p>The immigrants are primarily attracted American jobs in the agriculture, hospitality, and construction industries, Jeronimo Cortina, a professor and research associate at the University of Houston's Center for Public Policy, told <a href="http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Experts-says-immigration-crackdown-makes-11325292.php">The Houston Chronicle</a>.</p>
<p>"Deaths like those in this case are going to be happening again and again, or even more if we don't tackle the root of the problem," Cortina said. "It's a market rule, and it's not going to change just because you put up more walls."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-how-smugglers-use-trucks-with-sometimes-deadly-results-2017-7" >How human smugglers use trucks — like the one parked outside a Texas Walmart — with sometimes deadly results</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/botched-texas-smuggling-operation-killed-ten-immigration-news-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-manafort-center-trump-russia-investigation-what-need-know-2017-7">Paul Manafort is at the center of the Trump-Russia investigation — here's what you need to know about him</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-undividing-america-2017-6Republicans could solve a problem many of them don't believe inhttp://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-undividing-america-2017-6
Sun, 23 Jul 2017 17:00:00 -0400Rebecca Harrington
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59556af7a3630f2c008b696e-1200/undividing-america-thumbnails2x1.png" alt="Undividing America thumbnails_2x1" data-mce-source="AP/Mike Nudelman/Business Insider"></p><p></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Americans overwhelmingly want to protect the environment, and while the political extremes can't agree on "climate change," they can still forge a path for the US to curb it.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Bipartisan solutions, like carbon pricing and renewable energy, do exist. And they could become reality in the next five years.</strong></li>
<li><strong>While the federal government might need to eventually enact sweeping climate-change policies, businesses and cities are already leading the way because market forces — and public opinion — support climate action.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>DALLAS — It was the afternoon before Earth Day in April when an imposing Republican stood up and declared war.</p>
<p>John Walsh III had spent the past half-hour sitting in the front row listening to former Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark, who happens to be a retired four-star general, try to convince the crowd that climate change is a national-security issue.</p>
<p>Then Walsh took the microphone.</p>
<p>"This is a war, and we need to treat it like one," he said. "I'm on the other side of the aisle from you politically, but I'm right in the trench with you on this issue."</p>
<p>It was already a day of contrasts. A conservative had organized this Earth Day celebration. It attracted 100,000 people to Texas' state fairgrounds, including climate researchers from elite universities as far away as New York City, oil-company executives, and families.</p>
<p>In this polarized political environment, and at a time when many of the people running the government won't acknowledge the reality of climate change, this sounds like a remarkable moment of common ground. But 1,300 miles from Washington, DC, this kind of agreement is commonplace.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/206030/global-warming-concern-three-decade-high.aspx">Sixty-eight percent</a> of Americans accept the overwhelming scientific consensus that our climate is changing, and most say they worry about it. But Texas shows that it's when we talk about it that things seem to fall apart.</p>
<p>Take away the charged language and start talking about clean water, clean air, and clean soil, and there's a lot of agreement. And a lot of opportunity.</p>
<p>You can find consensus in the war against climate change — as long as you don't call it "climate change."</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/595426d8a3630f02058b6361-900/ua%20climate%20change.jpg" alt="UA climate change" data-mce-source="Skye Gould/Business Insider"></p>
<h1>Tree huggers</h1>
<p>Walsh never had one specific moment when he accepted that the climate was changing.</p>
<p>His father taught him to respect the land growing up. And as a Christian, he learned to be a good steward of God's Earth.</p>
<p>He's the CEO and founder of a real-estate firm in headquartered in Frisco, Texas. And he's been a tree hugger for decades.</p>
<p>In 1984, Walsh's company, <a href="http://www.tigusa.com/">TIG</a>, was starting to put up some high-end office buildings in Carrollton, Texas. The site had many old-growth trees, but instead of bulldozing them wholesale, as most developers would, he decided they were worth saving.</p>
<p><img class="float_left" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5953d9bed084cca4008b61aa-2400/img36621.jpg" alt="john's trees" data-mce-source="Courtesy of John Walsh III" data-mce-caption="A few of the trees John Walsh III has saved in Carrollton, Texas with his real estate company TIG.">On signs in front of each tree, he wrote a message: "It took God 50 years to put this tree here. Don't even think about moving it."</p>
<p>Walsh personally signed each message so the workers would know who they'd have to answer to if they cut a tree down. By keeping all the trees, TIG actually ended up saving money on energy and new plantings.</p>
<p>Walsh says it's logical arguments like that people need to hear if everyone is going to get onboard to fight climate change. Wear your jeans three days instead of one, he recommended, and you'd be surprised how much energy, resources, and money you can save.</p>
<p>It's a modern day echo of <a href="https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-and-conservation.htm">Teddy Roosevelt-style</a> Republicanism.</p>
<p>To Walsh and others in the movement, environmentalism has always been a conservative idea. They say Democrats stole the mantle.</p>
<p>"To conserve is conservative," Earth Day Texas founder and Republican Trammell S. Crow said in March, when he visited Business Insider's offices to try to persuade New York journalists to come to Earth Day Texas.</p>
<blockquote class="pullquote float_right">Yes, I'm a Republican. I'm also a huge environmentalist.</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://ryansitton.com/">Ryan Sitton</a>, the Texas Railroad Commissioner, agrees. An engineer by training, he was elected to the post overseeing the state's agency regulating the oil and gas industry (much to Sitton's chagrin, the job has nothing to do with railroads).</p>
<p>What Sitton finds most challenging is that because everything is so polarized these days, there's no dialogue.</p>
<p>"Yes, I'm a Republican. I'm also a huge environmentalist," he says.</p>
<p>"Parties are black and white. 'Oh, Republicans are the party of the economy and jobs, and Democrats are the party of the environment.' Yet all of us in this nation want a good economy, we all want good jobs, and we all want to protect our environment for future generations," he told a crowd of two-dozen constituents at a town-hall-style talk. "None of those are partisan issues."</p>
<h1>A new message</h1>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5953d93fa3630fd5148b5fa4-2400/20170423175618.jpg" alt="earth day texas trammell crow" data-mce-source="Rebecca Harrington/Business Insider" data-mce-caption="Republican Trammell S. Crow, founder of Earth Day Texas, poses at the end of the multiday event in April 2017 that attracted 100,000 people to find bipartisan environmental solutions.">If you want to understand how so many conservatives these days can be pro-environment and still deny climate change, meet <a href="https://www.texasgop.org/leadership-directory/state-republican-executive-committee/">Paul Braswell</a>. He's a chemist turned computer consultant who raises Texas longhorns. And he's on the executive committee for the Republican Party of Texas.</p>
<p>He says there's a common misconception that farmers and Republican landowners are all for using resources at the expense of the environment. They're "good stewards," he said.</p>
<p>He wants to protect the land. But ask him about climate change and his tone changes.</p>
<p>"They're fudging their data," he said of climate scientists. "There are flaws in their global-warming theory. And instead of adjusting their hypothesis, they're adjusting their data."</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/593076e1b74af426208b529c-2400/rtx38liz.jpg" alt="donald trump climate paris" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump announces his decision that the United States will withdraw from the landmark Paris Climate Agreement, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2017." data-link="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZWQ99OOR&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=931&amp;RH=825#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C0BXZWQ99OOR&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=931&amp;RH=825&amp;POPUPPN=13&amp;POPUPIID=2C0BF1S530GZ6"></p>
<p>Braswell says that he's more conservative than most Republicans in Texas. But his line of thinking echoes that of EPA Chief Scott Pruitt and President Trump. And it sounds a lot like what the president used as his justification for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-paris-agreement-climate-change-2017-6">pulling the US out</a> of the global Paris climate agreement.</p>
<p>Braswell is a scientist himself, of course, and when you talk with him, he's just as likely to start talking about Einstein's theory of relativity, or how farmers can use better chemicals for the earth.</p>
<p>That's partly why, for all he does personally to protect the environment on a small scale — buying a fuel-efficient truck and limiting the use of insecticides on his land — he doesn't believe climate change is happening. He says humans couldn't possibly cause that much warming, and if it is getting hotter, the earth will fix itself.</p>
<p>Scientists leading the fight against climate change see people like Braswell as a missed opportunity.</p>
<p>"Climate scientists failed to relate what we know to the public," <a href="http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~peter/">Peter de Menocal</a>, a renowned climate scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, told Business Insider.</p>
<p>"There's a big, angry mob out there. Those are very real feelings. I respect that. All I can do is tell people what I know about how the climate is changing."</p>
<h1>Food, water, shelter, energy</h1>
<p>Until recently, when experts tried to convince Americans to care about climate change, they'd often show them <a href="https://scripps.ucsd.edu/programs/keelingcurve/">this chart</a>:</p>
<p><img class="center" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59541017a3630f87028b632a-/keeling%20curve.gif" alt="keeling curve" data-mce-source="Skye Gould/Business Insider"></p>
<p>Over hundreds of thousands of years, the climate has gone up and down in a fairly consistent cycle, and then at the very end, it's like a hockey stick: the amount of carbon in the atmosphere skyrockets.</p>
<p>It's compelling to look at, but for many, it's too abstract.</p>
<p>Former President Barack Obama can call climate change the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-obama-says-no-greater-threat-to-planet-than-climate-change-2015-4">greatest threat facing humanity</a>, but if you can't see it in your own life, it's hard to really care.</p>
<p>That's why at a Columbia University event at Earth Day Texas, de Menocal said when he's trying to convince people to take climate action, he's started referencing tangible things everyone can get behind. These are humanity's basic needs: food, water, shelter, and energy.</p>
<p>In a sign of burgeoning common ground, at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RyanSittonTX/videos/1383055748428232/">town hall</a> the next morning, Sitton was making the case that Texas could help developing nations climb out of poverty by showing them how to regulate their natural resources.</p>
<p><img class="float_left" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/592dfa7a79474c1c008b55d1-1938/ryan%20sitton.jpg" alt="ryan sitton" data-mce-source="Ryan Sitton/Twitter" data-mce-caption="Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton holds a town hall at Earth Day Texas on April 22, 2017." data-link="https://twitter.com/RyanSitton/status/855817335910936576">"When you look around the world and you say, what is the No. 1 thing when you talk about the basic elements of society — shelter, food, and water are the first three. When you look at society's needs, energy is a huge component of that."</p>
<p>This line is breaking through the partisanship in a way that talk of warming has not.</p>
<p>"The best way to communicate with those minds-made-up climate deniers is not to talk about climate change but air quality," Crow said. Improving food, water, shelter and energy also help reduce the amount of carbon emitted, and global warming.</p>
<p>"Temperature can take care of itself if you deal with air quality. That's a public-health issue; that's not an argument. Everybody believes in that."</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/59541017a3630f1b008b63e2-/earth%20day%20texas%20numbers.gif" alt="earth day texas numbers" data-mce-source="Skye Gould/Business Insider"></p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/10/04/public-views-on-climate-change-and-climate-scientists/">2016 Pew survey</a> found that 48% of Americans believed that the Earth was warming because of human activity, a belief that 69% of Democrats and 23% of Republicans share.</p>
<p>But concern is growing. A <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/206030/global-warming-concern-three-decade-high.aspx">March 2017 Gallup poll</a> found that 45% of Americans worried "a great deal" about global warming and 68% believed humans were causing it.</p>
<p>And three-quarters of Americans said in an <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/20/for-earth-day-heres-how-americans-view-environmental-issues/">Earth Day Pew survey</a> that they were particularly concerned about protecting the environment, and 83% said they try to live in ways to help protect it all or some of the time in their daily lives.</p>
<p>So there is common ground. Now what can be done about it?</p>
<h1>Smokestacks to carbon tax</h1>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/59541017a3630f65358b5eb1-1200/wind%20power.png" alt="wind power" data-mce-source="GE" data-mce-caption="Workers install America’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island. The five 600-foot turbines started delivering power to the New England grid on May 5, 2017."></p>
<p>Braswell remembers growing up on the Texas panhandle, when his dad worked at a factory that made carbon black, which went into black paint and tires. The smoke stacks spit out so much pollution that the white-faced cattle turned black.</p>
<p>As he got older the plant installed scrubbers and filters to clean up the air. The cows returned to their normal color.</p>
<p>We have made progress since Rachel Carson sparked the environmental movement with "<a href="http://www.rachelcarson.org/SilentSpring.aspx">Silent Spring</a>" in 1962, and we can keep capitalizing on that momentum.</p>
<p>If you listen closely, the next logical step in this climate war we're waging is clear to liberal environmentalists — and to a growing number of Republicans.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5953db79d084cc6a298b54b2-2400/pauls%20cattle.jpg" alt="paul's cattle" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Paul Braswell" data-mce-caption="A few of Paul Braswell's roughly 60 longhorn cattle he raises on his 125-acre ranch in east Texas."></p>
<p>Several conservatives, including former Secretaries of State James A. Baker III and George P. Shultz, have put forth a <a href="https://www.clcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/TheConservativeCaseforCarbonDividends.pdf">plan for a carbon tax</a>.</p>
<p>And as a local organizer for the nonpartisan <a href="https://citizensclimatelobby.org/climate-solutions-caucus/">Citizen's Climate Lobby</a> told Business Insider at the group's booth at Earth Day Texas, it looks a lot like plans that it's proposing along with Democrats. A carbon tax, or carbon fee as liberals prefer to call it, would put a price on carbon dioxide.</p>
<p>A similar cap-and-trade system limiting the amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide the US could emit per year is what <a href="https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acid-rain-program">stopped the acid-rain crisis</a> and closed up the holes in the ozone layer surrounding Earth. And that was passed with Democratic majorities in Congress in 1990 and signed into law by Republican President George H.W. Bush, who ran for office as the "environmental president."</p>
<h1>Made in America</h1>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/592dd2f2b74af446008b5366-2400/ap17111652351029.jpg" alt="rick perry earth day texas" data-mce-source="AP Photo/LM Otero" data-mce-caption="U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry speaks to reporters at an Earth Day display at Fair Park in Dallas, Friday, April 21, 2017." data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Perry-Earth-Day/7c20ef21e9f14149931ae1609f3edae5/3/0"></p>
<p>While Braswell doesn't think humans burning fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide is changing the global climate, he is willing to plan for the chance that scientists are right.</p>
<p>The answer, to conservative Republicans like Braswell, Pruitt, and Sitton, is never more government regulation like Obama enacted — it's innovation. You want to shut down a dirty power plant? Fine, they say, do it in a way that doesn't kill American businesses.</p>
<p>"If it's not a good idea, let's not build it again," Braswell said. "If there's something better, then we can do things smarter using technology."</p>
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<p>His belief that American innovation can lead the way sounds just like what de Menocal of Columbia says convinces him there's momentum to vanquish climate change.</p>
<p>"As long as we make enough progress in the right direction, it's all good," de Menocal said. "Let's repower the planet. Let's get miners back to work installing solar panels. If I can wave the American flag for a minute, this is the kind of challenge we respond best to. They can be the heroes of this story. From a purely conservative standpoint, fighting climate change allows us to create jobs, protect national security, and ensure American resilience.What good American doesn't want those things?"</p>
<blockquote class="pullquote">From a purely conservative standpoint, fighting climate change allows us to create jobs, protect national security, and ensure American resilience.</blockquote>
<p>One example is "<a href="https://www.iea.org/topics/ccs/">carbon capture</a>," which sucks up carbon emissions from power plants and sticks them in the ground so they don't enter the atmosphere.</p>
<p>At Earth Day Texas, Business Insider asked the new US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, the longest-serving governor of Texas, whether Americans could expect more carbon-capture projects under the Trump administration.</p>
<p>"The short answer is yes," he said, and he's particularly excited that American companies can sell such technologies to our allies so they can reduce their carbon footprints.</p>
<p>"We make it in America. You know, made in America, sold to our friends around the world. It makes a lot of sense. I think that's the president's, that's his mindset, as well, so you're going to see a lot of technologies. Not just on the carbon-capture side, but in a host of different ways," Perry said. "If we're going to really affect the world, it's going to be innovation that does that."</p>
<h2>Coming to grips</h2>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59541017a3630ff71a8b6100-1200/solar%20panels%20us.png" alt="solar panels us" data-mce-source="Ethan Miller / Getty" data-mce-caption="Workers install a panel washing robot on the 28-Gigawatt solar farm at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 16, 2016. In 2007, former President George W. Bush signed a law requiring the Pentagon get a quarter of its electricity from renewables by 2025.">Minutes before Trump announced his decision to exit the Paris accord on June 1, de Menocal called. His voice was soft. He sounded beat.</p>
<p>Rolling back Obama-era regulations that it deems stifling to the economy at a breakneck pace, the Trump administration is slowing the federal government's climate progress at a time when scientists say it's crucial to speed up more than ever.</p>
<p>But on the phone that day, de Menocal was feeling hopeful.</p>
<p>"I'm not that pessimistic. I'm devastated, of course, but I'm not that pessimistic," he said. "If you think about it, if the nation's largest cities maintain their commitments, then <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/experts-react-trump-paris-agreement-climate-change-2017-6">we can do it without the government</a>."</p>
<p>Market forces, an appealing motivator to conservatives, can also help lead the way.</p>
<p><img class="float_left" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/59541016a3630fd5148b6152-/energy%20sources%20added%20worldwide%202016.gif" alt="energy sources added worldwide 2016" data-mce-source="Skye Gould/Business Insider"></p>
<p>The <a href="http://fs-unep-centre.org/sites/default/files/publications/globaltrendsinrenewableenergyinvestment2017.pdf">world added more energy from renewable sources</a> than from fossil fuels in 2015 and 2016, and the plummeting price of clean energy has allowed the US to decrease its carbon emissions over the last three years while the country's GDP has increased.</p>
<p>But eventually, agreeing on clean air, water, and land won't be enough, says <a href="https://www.nature.org/about-us/governance/executive-team/index.htm">Lynn Scarlett</a>, w<a href="https://www.nature.org/about-us/governance/executive-team/index.htm">h</a>o served as the deputy secretary and acting secretary in President George W. Bush's Department of the Interior. Now she's the managing director for public policy at the Nature Conservancy.</p>
<p>"You can drive forward a lot of solutions under the banners of clean energy, energy reliability, energy efficiency, and not have to grapple with 'climate change' as a word. You can do a whole lot," Scarlett told Business Insider.</p>
<p>"But at some point, to really come to grips and say we really need to address greenhouse-gas emissions, carbon-dioxide emissions. That requires understanding that those emissions are a pollutant. That requires understanding that those emissions are in fact responsible for a changing climate. That requires understanding that there is that linkage between human action and greenhouse-gas emissions and all these bad things we're seeing — melting permafrost, unpredictable storms, rising sea levels. At some point, one has to really actually embrace the problem."</p>
<blockquote class="pullquote float_right">At some point, one has to really actually embrace the problem.</blockquote>
<p>Until then, there are Americans across the political spectrum clamoring for climate action. There are states making their own emissions reductions pledges, and cities making their own plans for sea level rise, and companies making their own clean-energy investments, and farmers installing wind turbines on their own land, and homeowners installing solar panels on their own rooftops.</p>
<p>And somewhere in Texas, there's a Republican real-estate developer doing his part to save one tree at a time. And he's telling us to join the war — before it's too late.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/earth-day-texas-2017-dallas-scott-pruitt-protest-2017-4" >Scott Pruitt came to Earth Day Texas, and the whole thing was pretty weird</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/earth-day-texas-photos-trammell-crow-dallas-2017-4" >Texas hosts the largest Earth Day event in the world — here's what it was like</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-undividing-america-2017-6#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/france-president-emmanuel-macron-donald-trump-paris-agreement-rebuke-2017-6">French president excoriates Trump in English over US withdrawal from climate deal</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-eight-found-dead-in-texas-truck-in-suspected-human-trafficking-2017-78 found dead inside an 18-wheeler that 'ruthless human smugglers' parked behind a Texas Walmarthttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-eight-found-dead-in-texas-truck-in-suspected-human-trafficking-2017-7
Sun, 23 Jul 2017 09:04:00 -0400Jim Forsyth
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5974f328552be5ad008b5f57-800/2017-07-23t163429z1lynxmped6m0grrtroptp3texas-bodies.jpg" alt="san antonio texas tractor trailer walmart human trafficking" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Ray Whitehouse" data-mce-caption="Police officers work on a crime scene after eight people believed to be illegal immigrants being smuggled into the United States were found dead inside a sweltering 18-wheeler trailer parked behind a Walmart store in San Antonio, Texas on July 23, 2017."></p><p></p>
<p>SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Eight people were found dead on Sunday inside a sweltering tractor trailer parked at a Walmart store in San Antonio, Texas, and authorities said they were the victims of "ruthless" human traffickers.</p>
<p>Another 30 people, many in critical condition and suffering from heat stoke and exhaustion, were also in the trailer, which lacked air conditioning or a water supply, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said. Temperatures outside the vehicle topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit.</p>
<p>The truck's driver was arrested and will face charges, said Richard Durbin, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, and prosecutors are working to identify others responsible.</p>
<p>The bodies were discovered after officials were led to the trailer by a man who had approached a Walmart employee and asked for water.</p>
<p>"All were victims of ruthless human smugglers indifferent to the well-being of their fragile cargo," Durbin said.</p>
<p>"These people were helpless in the hands of their transporters. Imagine their suffering, trapped in a stifling trailer in 100-plus degree heat," he said.</p>
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<p>San Antonio is about 150 miles north of the border with Mexico. Temperatures in the area held above 100 degrees Fahrenheit until 6 p.m. local time on Saturday and were expected to soar into the 100s again on Sunday, with humidity making the heat feel close to 110 degrees, forecasters said.</p>
<p>Raids on suspected illegal immigrants have ramped up across the United States in recent months, after President Donald Trump's vow to crack down on those entering the country without authorization or overstaying their visas.</p>
<p>In Texas alone, federal immigration agents said they arrested 123 illegal immigrants with criminal records in an eight-day operation that ended last week.</p>
<p>The San Antonio deaths come more than a decade after what is considered the worst immigrant smuggling case in U.S. history, when 70 people were found stuffed into an 18-wheeler. Nineteen of them died in the incident in Victoria, Texas, about 100 miles southeast of San Antonio, in May 2003.</p>
<h2>'Horrible tragedy'</h2>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5974f3a95d8a2f23008b4577-800/2017-07-23t163429z1lynxmped6m0gortroptp3texas-bodies.jpg" alt="san antonio texas walmart human trafficking" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Ray Whitehouse" data-mce-caption="A police officer works on a crime scene after eight people believed to be illegal immigrants being smuggled into the United States were found dead inside a sweltering 18-wheeler trailer parked behind a Walmart store in San Antonio, Texas, U.S. July 23, 2017."></p>
<p>San Antonio Police Chief William McManus described the latest fatalities as a "horrible tragedy" and said other suspects had fled the scene as police officers arrived.</p>
<p>"Checking the video, there were a number of vehicles that came and picked up other people who were in that trailer," McManus said.</p>
<p>Twenty people were airlifted to seven hospitals and their conditions were "critical to very critical," Hood said. Eight others are hospitalized in less serious condition, he said.</p>
<p>At San Antonio's University Hospital, six adults were admitted early Sunday with heat-related injuries, all of them in critical condition, spokesman Donald Finley said.</p>
<p>McManus said the people in the truck ranged from school-age juveniles to adults in their 20s and 30s.</p>
<p>He said the Department of Homeland Security had joined the investigation, and that the origin of the truck is unclear.</p>
<p>Experts have warned in recent months that tougher immigration policies could make it more difficult to stop human trafficking. Measures to harden international borders encourage would-be migrants to turn to smugglers and fear of deportation deters whistle-blowing, they said.</p>
<p>The Border Patrol has regularly reported finding suspected immigrants inside trucks along the U.S. border with Mexico. Earlier this month, 72 Latin Americans were found in a trailer in Laredo, it said. In June, 44 people were found in the back of tractor trailer in the same Texas city, which lies directly across the Rio Grande from Mexico.</p>
<p>While there are no official law enforcement statistics, nearly 32,000 cases of human trafficking in the United States have been reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in the last decade.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Frank McGurty and Daniel Wallis)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/border-patrol-drop-in-undocumented-immigration-donald-trump-2017-7" >Border patrol union chief praises 'miraculous' drop in illegal immigration under Trump</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-border-wall-mexico-drugs-2017-7" >Trump says his wall along the US-Mexico border will have to be see-through so people don't get hit with giant sacks of drugs</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-eight-found-dead-in-texas-truck-in-suspected-human-trafficking-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/coffee-viagra-ingredient-sildenafil-recalled-2017-7Coffee with a Viagra-like ingredient was just recalled, and it reveals a bigger problemhttp://www.businessinsider.com/coffee-viagra-ingredient-sildenafil-recalled-2017-7
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:28:00 -0400Erin Brodwin
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5964ef8ff5018435008b5a10-889/shutterstock473186926.jpg" alt="coffee" data-mce-source="Shutterstock/Alpha_7D" /></p><p>On the back of virtually any bottle of supplements, beneath the bold lettering claiming to list the ingredients, are two words that strike fear into the heart of Pieter Cohen, a Harvard Medical School <a href="https://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/expert-participants/pieter-cohen/">assistant professor</a>: "proprietary blend."</p>
<p>Under the protective umbrella of these words, Cohen said, a supplement maker does not have to list the details of what's in the product.</p>
<p>That is what most likely happened with a type of instant coffee &mdash; sold by the Texas-based vendor Bestherbs Coffee LLC &mdash; that the Food and Drug Administration recently found to contain an ingredient chemically similar to Viagra.</p>
<p>"Proprietary blend" is essentially a loophole that "allows companies to put in ingredients without telling us the amounts," Cohen said during a <a href="https://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/about/">panel discussion</a> organized by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "And those tend to be the higher-risk product."</p>
<p>The coffee, sold under the name New of Kopi Jantan Tradisional Natural Herbs Coffee, was available online for nearly two years, between 2014 and 2016. But last week, the FDA announced that the company was voluntarily <a href="https://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm567266.htm">recalling the product</a> after testing revealed it contained undeclared ingredients. Desmethyl carbodenafil, in particular, raised alarms, since it's chemically similar to sildenafil, the active ingredient in the popular erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra.</p>
<p>Bestherbs' packaging merely says the instant coffee has "natural herbs."</p>
<p>The FDA has recently overseen the recall of two other similar coffee products: Stiff Bull Herbal Coffee and Caverlo Natural Herbal Coffee. The vendor of each claimed its coffee included an ingredient called tongkat ali, or "longjack," that's derived from the root of a Malaysian tree.</p>
<p>The ingredient is increasingly being used in supplements claiming to have "male enhancement" properties. While <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20348942">some limited evidence</a> suggests that taking a specific tongkat ali supplement can improve the quality and concentration of sperm in infertile men, there is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4085925/">little evidence to support its use</a> for erectile dysfunction, athletic performance, or low testosterone.</p>
<p>The ingredient can also have dangerous side effects, which is why it's important for people to know what they are consuming.</p>
<p>According to the FDA, desmethyl carbodenafil can interact negatively with some prescription drugs by lowering blood pressure to dangerous levels. Men who have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease are at particular risk.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/591f60d96391472d558b4c07-991/supplementproprietaryblend.jpg" alt="supplement_proprietary_blend" data-mce-source="Flickr/Mike Mozart" data-link="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/14853311610" /></p>
<h2>The 'proprietary blend' loophole</h2>
<p>To illustrate the problems plaguing the supplement industry, Cohen likes to compare the safety framework for supplements with the one we have for food.</p>
<p>Ingredients in food products have to meet a guideline known as the "generally recognized as safe," or GRAS, standard. Ingredients introduced to supplements do not.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.fda.gov/food/dietarysupplements/">some laws</a> regulating dietary supplements, however. In 1994, Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act to address the labeling and safety of supplements. Several more recent regulations mandate that manufacturers observe what is known as "good manufacturing practices," including ingredient testing.</p>
<p>But Cohen said those regulations were "not anywhere near the level of scrutiny" applied to food. A PBS Frontline investigation even found that the law received <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/supplements-and-safety/">investments from many players</a> in the supplement industry.</p>
<p>Under the law, manufacturers that list ingredients <a href="https://www.fda.gov/RegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ucm073168.htm">under the "proprietary blend" category</a> don't have to note the amounts of individual items in that category. Instead, they have to list only those within the blend and the <em>total</em> amount of it. But certain ingredients are still often left out or mislabeled &mdash; intentionally or not.</p>
<p>The law also allows supplement makers to claim that a product <a href="https://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/IndustryInfo/ucm485532.htm">does things that it may not</a>, so long as it says somewhere on the package that it is "not intended to treat, diagnose, prevent, or cure diseases."</p>
<p>If a product is unsafe, then, it becomes the FDA's responsibility to prove it. And supplements as a whole are subject to far less oversight than other products.</p>
<p>"From a regulatory perspective," Cohen said, all of these supplements "are presumed to be safe, but the reality is many people ... are harmed."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-supplements-least-safe-2017-7" >These 3 types of supplements are 'the most lawless' of the industry, according to a Harvard researcher</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-supplements-herbs-dangerous-2017-5" >Supplements are more dangerous than other processed foods, according to a Harvard doctor</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/coffee-viagra-ingredient-sildenafil-recalled-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/whats-inside-pimple-pus-bacteria-acne-2017-8">All the nasty things inside a pimple — and why you should stop popping them</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-texas-senate-aiming-to-move-divisive-bills-at-breakneck-pace-2017-7Texas Senate stages midnight session to move controversial bills at a breakneck pacehttp://www.businessinsider.com/ap-texas-senate-aiming-to-move-divisive-bills-at-breakneck-pace-2017-7
Thu, 20 Jul 2017 13:59:00 -0400Will Weissert
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/59233ea05124c909248aa13f-800/texas-house-set-to-pass-bathroom-bill-targeting-public-schools-2017-5.jpg" alt="FILE PHOTO - The U.S flag and the Texas State flag fly over the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, U.S. on March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="FILE PHOTO - The U.S flag and the Texas State flag fly over the Texas State Capitol in Austin" /></p><p></p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) &mdash; The Texas Senate staged an unusual midnight floor session Thursday as conservatives who dominate the chamber rushed to revive abortion restrictions, school vouchers and a "bathroom bill" targeting transgender people before opponents have time to mobilize against them.</p>
<p>Senators passed bills allowing the Texas Medical Board and other state agencies to continue operating during the opening moments of just the third day of its month-long special legislative session.</p>
<p>"It's a hurry because we have 30 days and 20 bills," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a former conservative talk radio host who oversees the Senate, told reporters. He even brought pizzas for his colleagues before work began around 12:15 a.m.</p>
<p>Clearing those agency oversight measures allows the Senate to tackle more divisive issues at breakneck speed, hence the late-night session. Patrick plans to ram more hot-button bills through committee and floor passage in mere days, even if it limits public input and legislative debate. That pace doesn't guarantee any will become law, though, since the Texas House is moving more slowly with plenty of time left in an extra session running through Aug. 18.</p>
<p>The usually non-controversial agency bills failed during Texas' 140-day regular session that ended Memorial Day, in part because Patrick wanted to force an overtime session so lawmakers could approve conservative bills that failed earlier this year.</p>
<p>Republican Gov. Greg Abbott complied. He called the Legislature back to work in order to keep the agencies operating and then to tackle around 20 other priorities. Those include a "bathroom bill" requiring transgender people to use public restrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates, even though North Carolina largely rolled back a similar measure it approved last year amid national outcry and threats of boycotts that could cost the state millions.</p>
<p>Abbott followed the Senate's Thursday move by releasing a proclamation around 1 a.m. expanding the special session's workload even further to include proposals to improve Texas' school finance system, which the all-Republican state Supreme Court declared barely constitutional last year.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/572bd4f2910584cc5e8c0fc0-2400/ap611236258033.jpg" alt="texas governor greg abbott" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Eric Gay" data-mce-caption="In this July 8, 2013 file photo, then-Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott speaks during an anti-abortion rally at the Texas Capitol, in Austin, Texas." /></p>
<p>"I'm immediately adding all the remaining items on my special session agenda," Abbott said in a statement. Other bills he'd like passed would combat mail-in ballot fraud, prohibit union dues from being collected in public sector paychecks and impose limits on local governments' abilities to raise property taxes, approve tree-cutting ordinances and annex territory.</p>
<p>Patrick wants the entire slate to clear the Senate quickly, further solidifying his reputation among conservatives.</p>
<p>"If you are following the Texas Senate, get your running shoes," Trayce Bradford, president of the conservative grassroots Texas Eagle Forum, emailed supporters Thursday. "If you are tracking the Texas House, you might want to grab a good book."</p>
<p>But many of the items being revived lacked the votes to be approved previously, and still do. The state House, which like the Texas Senate is Republican-controlled, rejected the upper chamber's version of the bathroom bill and instead approved a scaled-back version applying only to schools, which itself failed.</p>
<p>House members also repeatedly defeated Senate proposals on school vouchers, which provide public money to students attending private schools, and have been far warier of other issues such as encroaching on local governments' power.</p>
<p>The House should find common ground with the Senate on some key upcoming issues in coming weeks, but won't move as fast. Republican House Speaker Joe Straus opposes the bathroom bill and some of Patrick's other top priorities, and the pair has feuded publicly for weeks, potentially further bottling up legislation.</p>
<p>Democrats, meanwhile, have decried a lack of Senate transparency but don't have the votes to slow the chamber down. They note that protesters turned out in force to decry much of the same legislation during the regular session, and are accusing Patrick of trying to ensure they don't have enough advance warning to do so again.</p>
<p>Sen. Jose Menendez, a San Antonio Democrat, took to Twitter urging Texans: "Important! Unnecessary &amp; misguided bills have been scheduled for public hearings-Come &amp; make your voice heard."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-ex-texas-officer-indicted-on-murder-charge-in-teens-death-2017-7" >Grand jury indicts white Texas cop on a murder charge for fatally shooting black 15-year-old boy</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-texas-senate-aiming-to-move-divisive-bills-at-breakneck-pace-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-uss-gerald-r-ford-aircraft-carrier-nimitz-2017-7">How the US's futuristic new aircraft carrier will change naval warfare forever</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/dallas-is-about-to-get-its-first-female-police-chief-2017-7Dallas is about to get its first female police chiefhttp://www.businessinsider.com/dallas-is-about-to-get-its-first-female-police-chief-2017-7
Wed, 19 Jul 2017 21:18:00 -0400Rebecca Lopez
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/596fd8e9c50c291e008b5543-711/reneehalldpdttjpg800x1000q100.jpg" alt="Renee_Hall_dallas police chief" data-mce-source="Detroit Police Department via Texas Tribune" data-mce-caption="Ulysha Renee Hall was named the next Dallas police chief on July 19, 2017. She has served as a deputy chief in Detroit." data-link="https://www.texastribune.org/2017/07/19/dallas-hires-detroit-deputy-chief-be-its-next-police-chief/" /></p><p>DALLAS &mdash; The Dallas Police Department has a new police chief.</p>
<p>Sources told WFAA that City Manager T.C. Broadnax has hired Detroit Deputy Chief Ulysha Renee Hall, who will be the first female to serve as police chief in Dallas.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I am honored to be chosen to lead the Dallas Police Department at this critical time in its history,&rdquo; Hall said in a statement released Wednesday. &ldquo;I look forward to building on the successes of the past, preserving community trust and ensuring the safety of our officers and the entire Dallas community.&rdquo;</p>
<p>During her time with the Detroit Police Department, Hall established and oversaw a neighborhood policing program to build bridges between minority communities and officers. According to a city of Dallas statement, Detroit saw a 40-year low in homicides and&nbsp;"double-digit reductions in violent crime for three consecutive years" during her time with the department.</p>
<p>Hall's father, Officer Ulysses Brown, was killed in the line of duty on Aug. 20, 1971, in Detroit. She was just 6 months old at the time, according to Detroit's ABC station&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/detroit-police-deputy-chief-fighting-for-justice-decades-after-fathers-murder">WXYZ</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Brown was working for a unit formed to crackdown on prostitution when he was shot dead by an unknown assailant, the Detroit station reported.</p>
<p>"My father not being there meant the same thing as every other child in Detroit or around the world growing up without a father," she told WXYZ. "It has an impact."</p>
<p>Almost 26 years later, her father's murder remains one of Detroit's oldest unsolved cases.</p>
<p>At the age of 29, she began her service with the Detroit Police Department.&nbsp;</p>
<p>There were eight finalists to replace former Chief David Brown.</p>
<p>One of the finalists, Chief Steve Dye, of Grand Prairie, dropped out.</p>
<p>The list included Dallas Deputy Chiefs Malik Aziz and Rick Watson, Dallas Assistant Chief Gary Tittle, Seattle Deputy Chief Carmen Best, Detroit Deputy Chief U. Renee Hall, Los Angeles First Assistant Chief Michel Moore and Assistant Chief Luther Reynolds of Montgomery County, MD.</p>
<p>The city launched a nationwide search after Brown retired in October.</p>
<p>The candidates toured the city last week and met with citizens, police associations and the Dallas City Council.</p>
<p>Broadnax listened to people&rsquo;s viewpoints but the decision was his to make.</p>
<p>The new chief faces big challenges, including low morale, failing pensions and a dwindling police department.</p>
<p>Broadnax went to the council to ask for a higher salary to pay the new chief.</p>
<p><em>WFAA's Marjorie Owens contributed to this report.</em></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dallas-trinity-river-park-project-2016-12" >Dallas is getting a $600 million urban park that's more than 11 times as large as Central Park</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dallas-is-about-to-get-its-first-female-police-chief-2017-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-you-may-have-missed-season-7-episode-5-game-of-thrones-hbo-jon-snow-targaryen-dragons-easter-eggs-2017-8">6 details you might have missed on season 7 episode 5 of 'Game of Thrones'</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/whataburger-versus-in-n-out-comparison-2017-7In-N-Out and Whataburger could soon become intense rivals — and it's clear who makes a better burgerhttp://www.businessinsider.com/whataburger-versus-in-n-out-comparison-2017-7
Wed, 19 Jul 2017 14:46:37 -0400Sarah Jacobs
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/565ba35f84307668008b5f1a-1700-1133/burger-smackdown-0074.jpg" alt="Whataburger, In-N-Out" data-mce-source="Sarah Jacobs" /></p><p><a href="http://whataburger.com/">Whataburger</a> is to Texas what <a href="http://www.in-n-out.com/">In-N-Out</a> is to California. Both companies are still family-owned, regional chains &mdash; an anomaly in a market that's dominated by national multimillion-dollar fast-food companies.</p>
<p>In-N-Outs are scattered throughout the Southwest, and the brand is expanding its Texas presence with plans to open another <a href="http://www.chron.com/business/article/In-N-Out-Burger-Coming-To-Houston-Westheimer-11299057.php#photo-9494352">location in Houston</a>. Whataburger, on the other hand, has locations throughout the&nbsp;South, from New Mexico to Florida.&nbsp;They meet in the middle, in Dallas, Texas, where I ate both&nbsp;side by side in a taste test last fall.</p>
<p>While Texans swear by Whataburger's more traditionally Southern menu items &mdash; Texas toast, patty melts, biscuits &mdash; Californians rave about In-N-Out's fresh ingredients and "animal-style" burgers. I ordered a burger, large fries, and a chocolate milkshake.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-eat-instead-of-chipotle-2017-7" >Chipotle shut down a restaurant after customers said they became violently ill — here's where you should eat instead</a></strong></p>
<h3>My first stop was Whataburger. The building is outlined in a classic orange trimming, making it hard to miss when you're cruising down a Texas highway at 80 mph.</h3>
<img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/565ba35384307668008b5f19-400-300/my-first-stop-was-whataburger-the-building-is-outlined-in-a-classic-orange-trimming-making-it-hard-to-miss-when-youre-cruising-down-a-texas-highway-at-80-mph.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>Part of Whataburger's Southern charm is displayed right on their windows. There's an American flag and posters repping the neighborhood sports teams.</h3>
<img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/565ba35584307640008b5f5a-400-300/part-of-whataburgers-southern-charm-is-displayed-right-on-their-windows-theres-an-american-flag-and-posters-repping-the-neighborhood-sports-teams.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><h3>They take pride in their history — found in most Whataburger restaurants is a framed portrait of the chain's founder, Harmon Dobson, and the original location, which opened in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1950 (right).</h3>
<img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/565ba35384307639008b5ffb-400-300/they-take-pride-in-their-history--found-in-most-whataburger-restaurants-is-a-framed-portrait-of-the-chains-founder-harmon-dobson-and-the-original-location-which-opened-in-corpus-christi-texas-in-1950-right.jpg" alt="" />
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/whataburger-versus-in-n-out-comparison-2017-7#/#aside-from-the-historical-memorabilia-the-inside-of-a-whataburger-is-like-most-fast-food-chains-it-has-relatively-dim-lighting-tiled-floors-and-a-mostly-hidden-kitchen-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a>